Pricing and buying options

​

Buying options

There are different ways to buy PrEP in Australia. All options require a valid prescription.

If you have access to Medicare you can buy PrEP from any Australian pharmacy on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) as a government subsidised medicine. You'll pay no more than $41.00 for 30 days' supply or $6.60 with a concession.

​

If you have access to Medicare, three for the price of one PrEP is available by post anywhere in Australia. When you buy one bottle of PrEP from a group of Australian pharmacies, a charitable donation pays for the other two bottles of PrEP. The total cost including delivery is $50.00 for 90 days' supply, or $16.50 with a concession.

​

Whether you do or don't have access to Medicare, you can personally import PrEP from an online pharmacy for home delivery. Prices start from around $20 for 30 days' supply.

​

If you don't have access to Medicare, you can still buy PrEP from any Australian pharmacy but it will cost upwards from around $170 for 30 days' supply.

​

If you have access to Medicare, additional subsidies may be available for people with a concession, for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people under the Closing the Gap scheme, or for people who buy other PBS medicines under the PBS Safety Net threshold. This comprehensive guide provides more information: How to buy PrEP – even if you can’t afford it

​

​

​

​

Price watch

PrEP'D For Change produces a monthly price watch chart which is also shared on our Facebook Group. The chart includes options for buying PrEP in any Australian pharmacy at the PBS price, as well as competitively priced options for personal importation.

​

​

​

​

Free PrEP

If you are unable to afford PrEP for any reason, financial assistance schemes offering free PrEP are available.

​

Three for the price of one PrEP

Prepped Smart & Healthy is a registered Australian not-for-profit associated incorporation that donates the cost of two months of PrEP to people who buy PrEP from a group of Australian pharmacies.

​

This means when you get your regular supply of three months’ worth of PrEP, you’ll pay for one bottle at the standard PBS price and the other two bottles of are paid for by charitable donation on your behalf.

​

The cost for three month's supply of PrEP through Prepped Smart & Healthy is $50.00 (including postage), or $16.50 (including postage) for people with a valid concession.

​

Anyone in Australia can take up this offer with the following conditions:

​

You must have a valid Australian Medicare card

You must have a valid PBS prescription

If you are unable to attend a participating pharmacy, you can scan and email the prescription — you must also post your original prescription using the PO Box address provided

You must pay the current PBS co-payment at time of supply for one bottle of PrEP

A representative from Prepped Smart & Healthy will contact you to make payment with a credit or debit card over the phone.

Accessing this offer helps support the businesses which support the charity that supports you.

​

​

​

Local pharmacies

PrEP is available to purchase from any local pharmacy in Australia. However, not all pharmacies stock it all the time. Your pharmacist can order it in for you, though this might take a few days to arrive.

Some local pharmacies offer a postal service which requires you to post the paper copy of your prescription. Centre Pharmacy in Adelaide offers free delivery anywhere within Australia for PrEP on the PBS.

If you're buying PrEP from a local pharmacy there are different versions of PrEP subsidised on the PBS. You might not always get the same brand of medicine every time, but all versions of PrEP are approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and are considered to have bioequivalence — this means for all intents and purposes they're the same, even though ingredients, shape, size and colour of pills may vary.

In Australia, PBS listed versions of PrEP contain any one of these formulations:

​

Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate 300mg and Emtricitabine 200mg

Tenofovir Disoproxil Maleate 300mg and Emtricitabine 200mg

Tenofovir Disoproxil Phosphate 291mg and Emtricitabine 200mg

​

​

​

​

Personal importation

Anyone in Australia can personally import PrEP from an online pharmacy. Whether you do or don't have access to Medicare, the TGA's Personal Importation Scheme permits this when:

​

you include a valid prescription; and

the PrEP you are importing is for your own use; and

the total quantity of PrEP imported does not exceed three months’ supply in any one shipment; and

the total quantity of PrEP imported within a 12 month period does not exceed 15 months’ supply of PrEP

Prices and delivery times may vary between online pharmacies. The most competitive and well known online ones are:

​

Buying the right product online

The word 'PrEP' might not appear on your prescription or on medicine labels. PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis and isn't the name of a medicine or product, so it's important to make sure you're choosing the right one when buying online.

Just like PrEP sold in Australian pharmacies, versions of PrEP sold in online pharmacies may have slightly different active ingredients. These differences do not alter the effectiveness of PrEP in any way, even though the colour, size and shape of pills may vary.

​

To ensure you’re buying the right product, check it contains any one of these formulations:

​

Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate 300mg and Emtricitabine 200mg

Tenofovir Disoproxil Maleate 300mg and Emtricitabine 200mg

Tenofovir Disoproxil Phosphate 291mg and Emtricitabine 200mg

Products containing Tenofovir by itself, Emtricitabine by itself, or supplementary ingredients such as Efavirenz, Elvitegravir, Cobicistat, Lamivudine or Rilpirivine are different products and are not suitable for use as PrEP.